MP given update on potholes

Gideon Amos, MP for Taunton and Wellington, invited Somerset Council’s lead member for transport on a tour of pothole blackspots and welcomed the latest resurfacing work which is getting under way.

Mr Amos was joined by Cllr Richard Wilkins to visit several roads in the constituency which had been raised with him by constituents.

He said afterwards: “I took up the case of potholes and poor surfacing in some key locations around Taunton and Wellington with Somerset Council soon after I got elected.

“It was good to show Richard, from our Lib Dem team at County Hall, some of my concerns, and to have a follow-up meeting to highlight roads in the town centre, as well as some key problem areas in Wellington and our villages.

“I am delighted he has since confirmed that work will now be carried out to improve some of the worst conditions in Taunton town centre, including Silver Street near South Road.

“However, there are other key areas where our roads need improving and I will continue to keep up the pressure.

“I’ve asked for a full programme of works and will report back to constituents on getting the improvements they have asked for.”

Cllr Wilkins said afterwards: “I was pleased to meet with Gideon to discuss our continuing work to improve roads in Taunton and Wellington.

"Somerset Highways manage over 6700km of roads and have a full programme of resurfacing and surface dressing as well as reactive patching and pothole repairs.

“Despite the fact that auditors recently confirmed ‘poor decision making’ by the predecessor administrations created massive costs for us to deal with, we have stepped up to take the tough decisions that are getting the council back into the black - and I’m focusing on the transport day job of listening to and working for local people.”

He added: “I was also glad to hear that Gideon has used our website and found it fast and efficient. I would encourage everyone to use it to report any concerns."

The website link is: www.somerset.gov.uk/roads-travel-and-parking/report-a-problem-on-the-road/